31 Aug 2024
An outspoken local activist and campaigner for the preservation of the Alban Arena forced the authorities to take notice after civic crockery was dumped in a skip.
David Kaloczi spotted the plates, which were specialist St Albans-crested porcelain used for the large banquets which used to take place in the City Hall (now the Alban Arena), in a skip located outside the venue. It transpired they had been thrown out by Everyone Active staff together with various other items as part of an annual clear-out.
Although each item would probably only fetch £5-10 if sold, he was concerned about the historic value of the plates, and the fact that while many people are struggling SADC thought throwing them into a skip was a good option, especially if they ended up in landfill.
But after he reported the situation staff retrieved 25 side plates, one dinner plate and a bowl from the skip.
SADC chief executive Amanda Foley said: “A batch of civic crockery, stored at the Alban Arena, was mistakenly put in a skip for recycling.
“As soon as our officers became aware of this, the items fit for repurpose were retrieved.
“They will be donated to Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre for use in its kitchen.
“Measures are already being taken to ensure an incident such as this does not happen again.
“This error occurred during a maintenance week at the Alban Arena by our leisure contractor Everyone Active to prepare for the new season.
“This is an annual event and includes disposal of equipment that is broken or no longer required with a skip being hired for the clear-out.
“Everyone Active’s staff are obliged to gain authorisation from our senior officers before discarding any item.
“Unfortunately, the clear-out was undertaken by staff who were new to the Arena and who did not seek the necessary permissions.
“We are meeting with Everyone Active staff to remind them of their obligations and arrange any necessary training to prevent a reoccurrence. I am told Everyone Active management has already briefed their staff in any case.
“The remaining contents of the skip is being sent for recycling according to our normal procedures and not to landfill.
“Any wood, plastics, porcelain or other material that can be recycled will be extracted in line with our commitment to sustainability. This includes the crockery which was chipped or otherwise broken and could not be repurposed.
“The improper disposal was brought to our attention by a resident. While we are grateful to him for doing that, we have advised him that in future he should refrain from rummaging about in a skip as such action puts his health and safety at risk.”
David said: “Perhaps the council should explain where are all the hundreds of sets of specially commissioned antique ceramic dinner sets that were apparently sitting in the Arena basement in cupboards for years?
“This ceramic/porcelain was valuable and if it had not been for more due diligence then more would have been lost.
“This begs the question as to what other community assets are being squandered or lost.”
